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  • what's the latest queen mating?

  • Queen breeding specialism discussion forum.
Queen breeding specialism discussion forum.
 #8710  by Chrisbarlow
 01 Sep 2020, 17:29
Set up ten mini mating nucs this past week with queen cells. They'll have hatched yesterday I hope.

What's the latest do people think that queens can get mated in your part of the world?

I think this will be my last batch but is any one else still planning to get some virgins mated and if so, where are you?
 #8712  by AdamD
 01 Sep 2020, 18:30
You might be lucky and they'll mate early next week.
In my part of Norfolk, 2 miles from the coast, I have seen queens mate towards the end of September. I wouldn't plan to mate queens during September, but I would probably leave a supercedure queen to do so.
 #8715  by NigelP
 02 Sep 2020, 07:02
I think it becomes very weather dependent this time of year.
I doubt very much would have got mated in August around my area....very few flying days.
 #8718  by Chrisbarlow
 02 Sep 2020, 15:24
I think your right about weather dependent... Varies year to year. Area to area.

I've already noticed drones being evicted from hives, this concerns me a little.


Wasps this year at some sites are clearly an issue, I've put those mini nucs at a site where no wasps have been sighted yet and historically they seem not to appear.
 #8727  by Sipa
 03 Sep 2020, 16:38
We generally do our last round of grafting around the 15th August to get viable queens for sale around mid-late September.
This year we finished earlier.
 #8734  by Chrisbarlow
 03 Sep 2020, 19:50
Sipa wrote:
03 Sep 2020, 16:38
We generally do our last round of grafting around the 15th August to get viable queens for sale around mid-late September.
This year we finished earlier.
Interesting ... Where in the UK are you located?
 #8736  by huntsman.
 03 Sep 2020, 23:23
Would you not consider that even if the queens managed to mate this late in the year, they don't mate well and will lead to early supersedure?

I would hope such queens were not for public sale to beginners.

Caveat emptor!
 #8738  by AdamD
 04 Sep 2020, 13:35
I don't recall there being a problem with poor mating when queens mate late - they seem to be fine. However drone numbers must be reducing so the risks are there.
 #8742  by Cable_Fairy
 04 Sep 2020, 16:56
I have had a late superceedure and expect the new queen to take flight between the 10th and 16th going by the book, however drones appear to be very sparse in my hives so I am not expecting much. If nothing happens I will be combining the two hives over winter.
 #8743  by Chrisbarlow
 04 Sep 2020, 18:00
huntsman. wrote:
03 Sep 2020, 23:23
Would you not consider that even if the queens managed to mate this late in the year, they don't mate well and will lead to early supersedure?

I would hope such queens were not for public sale to beginners.

Caveat emptor!
I disagree, I find late supercedures mate fine. Most folk don't realise they've had a late supercedure until spring because theyve stopped inspecting their bees. My strong belief is , bees know best.


Im finding plenty of drones still in my colonies, so I don't think lack of drones will be an issue.

There are two main obstacles in mind, firstly, flying days, however looking at my local forecast, all looks well. Secondly ... Wasps. Wasps invading small mating boxes could be a major issue. Time will tell.

As for sale to beginners, my view is an overwintered colony is a far superior colony to any june mated queen/nuc to be sold to anybody, she's had all winter to fail to start with, you can assess temperament in a colony where all the bees belong to that queen and you can judge brood pattern. Late mating or not, 6 months later, that queen is tried and tested.